I AM extremely disappointed that our elected representatives haven't prioritised the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange in the upcoming state budget.
This piece of infrastructure has been mooted and supported for many years but has seemingly lost its appeal.
One wonders why. Surely it is not because there is now a Bunnings and Costco near Cockle Creek Station?
At least reinstate a railway station at Glendale where the old Sulphide Junction platform once served railway and industry workers. Such a station would not only serve people living in the Wallsend and Glendale areas but also the quickly growing Cameron Park / West Wallsend / Edgeworth developments.
It makes a lot of sense to add the station, at least. Simple enough, too, for buses to pick up and set down here, close to the current Glendale bus stands. It wouldn't replace Cardiff, but could ease the pressure on it.
It's the same for Main Road B53. It needs to be four lanes from Wallsend to Toronto and then onto Morisset, but the immediate goal should be to replace the roundabout at Speers Point (The Esplanade and TC Frith Avenue) with traffic lights, including slip and turn lanes.
During peak hours this bottle neck can hinder traffic and add up to 30 minutes to travel times.
But it seems the western side of Lake Macquarie is being dudded again and will be given (maybe) a part-time semi-solution of a traffic-controlled roundabout. That hybrid system will fail to function as efficiently as a genuine set of traffic lights.
Toronto, Morisset and the western side of the lake have seen a period of huge growth, and this will continue, but the lack of decent infrastructure impacts negatively upon amenity and lifestyle. At least give us a proper set of traffic lights at Speers Point to help traffic flow safely and efficiently.
John Pritchard, Blackalls Park
Nuclear's not the energy messiah
PUTTING aside the nonsense of posing nuclear energy as viable and necessary in a country with abundant sun, wind and waves, those who see Finland's overdue and over-budget nuclear power plant as an energy model for Australia also appear unaware of geography and solar access. Perhaps it's just a longing to reprise the Monty Python song: "Finland, Finland, Finland. The country where I want to be ..."
Consider that a third of Finland is above the Arctic Circle and is the homeland of the polar night. Capital Helsinki is 700km south of that. The distance between Hobart and the Antarctic Circle is nearly four times that.
As for the conservative Coalition's nuclear power plant kite-flying, I get it. It's what all politicians do. In the words of Yes Minister's Sir Humphrey Appleby, it's the politician's syllogism: "Something must be done; this is something; therefore we must do it."
In this case, the mix of rising energy prices during the energy transition and the political need to deflect and distract from the failure of the previous government to move more urgently to address human caused climate change created an opportunity.
So, what's an opposition to do? For now it looks like we have the first "something", which is to say they'll do a second "something" while secure in the knowledge nuclear power in Australia will never happen.
Rod Stanton, New Lambton
Don't fall for scare campaigning
Oh what a difference it would have made in the Voice to Parliament decision if the government of the day had replayed the Paul Keating Redfern address. We all would have better understood what we were voting for and why. I believe one person alone brought about the decision we all witnessed.
Peter Dutton, for his own political reasons, brought out the underlying racism that exists in this country.
We now witness similar rantings from the opposition leader regarding migration numbers and how it will cost jobs and houses for those who are doing it tough.
We know that people follow the ideals of their political party and believe whatever their leader promotes.
I encourage everybody to not allow such idiotic references to migration to form opinions. In my opinion Peter Dutton was successful in bringing about the 'no' vote with such lies and misinformation, so I request people be more and better advised on such important matters.
Graham Burgess, Speers Point
Look at history links Canberra and holy land
Richard Ryan ("Power imbalance in Gaza conflict", Letters, 25/5), your simplistic view on Israel's occupation of Palestinian is not totally correct. The UK in 1947 believed they should have a spiritual home to return to after the Holocaust of World War II.
It was recognised that Palestine was in fact a land of multiple non-affiliated wandering nomad tribes at the time, with no historical tenure, and that a two-state option was available. It was a bit like how the ACT is located within NSW.
Tony Mansfield, Lambton
What's the lifespan of a coal loader
IN 2050 will the Newcastle coal loader still be operating? A rubble for your thoughts, comrades.
Steve Barnett, Fingal Bay
Lord mayor's leading the news
IT was great to see our lord mayor's photo in the paper twice in a day last week in lovely positive stories ('The Store starts its climb to the sky'; 'Hunter Park needs $3bn funding over 30 years', Newcastle Herald 23/5), but I never see her in places that ratepayers are asking questions about.
Bruce Cook, Adamstown
You can't blame Labor for all of it
CERTAIN writers to the editor do need to get their facts right. This very boring habit that right wingers have of blaming the Labor Party for everything is making them look a bit silly. The sky is falling; blame the Labor Party. Fact: Eraring power station is owned by a private company, not the government.
Another fact is Vale Point power station, also privately owned, was sold in 2015 by the NSW Liberal government along with the Port of Newcastle. The reason that Newcastle has been having a problem with establishing a fair container trade is because of the same NSW Liberal government.
Colin Rowlatt, Newcastle
What benefits were you thinking
STEVE Barnett ("Views on unemployed clarified", Letters, 30/5). I may be a bit forgetful at times, but could you please explain to me where you referred to the unemployed as long-term?
If it wasn't money you were referring to, what other type of benefit would you suggest they should receive?
Maybe a nice ride on that bus you catch. Nobody pays for them anyway.
Are you actually saying that the Liberals have never used taxpayers' money to fund ex Labor prime ministers' very generous entitlements?
